Jerito League: Gym Leader Challenge
by Arizima
Summary: PG just to be safe. A Water Trainer from Kanto is invited to the newly-formed Jerito League to apply for the position of Gym Leader. But that's not all she's encountering in Jerito....
1. Chapter 1

Jerito League: Gym Leader Challenge

By Arizima

            AN: Right, well. This is something I thought up…. Jerito is an original league. Um, that's all I've got to say. As long as you're here, read, okay? ^_^;;;

            In the sea by Vermillion City, a teenage girl and a blue, strong-looking duck swam.  The girl and the Pokémon were obviously swimming together, but the girl was having trouble keeping up with the Golduck.  Finally, she touched the duck's shoulder.

            " Golduck, wait!" she panted, wiping her forehead, blinking salty water out of her sea-green eyes. " I think I've gone as far as I can today!  Let's go back!"  The Golduck turned and nodded; the two headed back to the shore.  

            The girl winced as her cold, wet feet met hot, dry sand.  She pulled a swimming cap off her head, and shook loose light blue hair that fell to her shoulders.  In the front, two large, long bangs tipped with white flopped into her face like feathery antennae.  The girl ran to a bundle of cloth by a large picnic table and wrapped the towel in it around herself.  She reached in again and brought out two minimized Pokéballs. Tossing them into the air, she said loudly, " Azumarill! Dewgong! Come on out!"  

A blue and white Pokémon with long ears and a cute little ball on the end of its tail, along with a large, white seal with a horn on its head appeared as the beams of red energy faded away. 

" Hi, guys. You go have some fun, okay?" The two nodded and plunged into the cool sea.  The girl turned to Golduck. " You can go too, Golduck. I know you're not tired." Golduck shook his head with a fervent " Duck" as he climbed into her lap.

Suddenly, Golduck yelled and pointed behind the girl. "Golduck duck duck!" The girl turned around and saw a woman with dark blue hair in a low ponytail.

" Mom, what're you doing here? Golduck and I were training!" The girl yelled.

" You've got a letter!" the woman called back.

" From who?"

" The Official Jerito Pokémon League!"

" … The what?" The girl muttered. The woman finally reached her and handed her the letter.

The girl looked down at it; true enough, it was hers, as it was addressed "Brooke Cascade".  In the upper-hand corner, the return address read "Official Jerito Pokémon League, Official Jerito Pokémon League Office, Adamant City, Jerito". In the upper-right corner, there were a couple of stamps, one featuring a Dragonite and the other a map of a large island looking somewhat like Pac-man facing downward.

Brooke looked down at the envelope, puzzled; just who were these Jerito Pokémon League people? She turned it over, slit it open with her fingernail, and dumped it out; a few papers with an official-looking seal on them along with an even smaller envelope fell out into her hands. Picking up the top one, she read,

" Dear Ms. Cascade:

" Due to your skills as a Water-type Specialist in the area of Pokémon training, you have been invited to apply for one of eight gym leader positions in Jerito.  Blah blah blah blah…. Jerito has only just recently started its Pokémon League, and cannot operate without Gym Leaders.  If you wish to apply, please use the enclosed ticket to the S. S. Mariner, which will be arriving in the port of Vermillion City on July 6. If you do not, please disregard this letter.

" If you have any questions, feel free to send a return letter. More details are addressed in the enclosed sheet.

" Cordially yours,

" Samuel Rankin, Official Pokémon Gym Officer." Brooke looked up from the paper, astonished.

" So…. They're saying I should apply to be a gym leader?" 

" I suppose so. What do you think?"

" I guess I'll have to think about it…." Brooke suddenly dropped the towel and unfolded two articles of clothing. 

" Yo! Azumarill! Dewgong! We're going home!" she called, slipping a black midriff-showing shirt featuring a light blue teardrop over her head.  The Azumarill and Dewgong swam back to the shore as Brooke put the rest of her clothes on; a pair of baggy shorts that fell past her knees, black with the lower half light blue in a wave pattern, and a pair of shoes. 

            " Great, guys. Return!"

*  *  *  *  *                        

            " So, have you thought about it?" Mr. Cascade said as they were cleaning up after dinner.  Brooke shrugged.

            " Yeah.  I think… I think I'll go." Mr. Cascade nodded.

            " Always knew you were meant for great things; where is this Jerito anyway?"

            " Somewhere north of Johto, I think.  I looked it up on a world map.  It's about the 2/3 the size of Kanto 'cause of that huge bay cutting it practically in half."

            " And how are you getting there?" Brooke's mother asked, worried.

            " You were there when I read the letter, Mom.  A ship, the S. S. Mariner.  Comes into port day after tomorrow.  Speaking of which, I'd better get packing."  Brooke excused herself and hurried upstairs to her room.

            Brooke's room looked pretty typical; slightly messy, clothes on the floor, but with one small difference; everything important was kept in a watertight container.  She called out Golduck and pulled a locked safe out of a drawer in her dresser as he popped out of his Pokéball.  Brooke spun the dial on the safe almost lazily, and pulled out a pendant of water in a teardrop-shaped piece of glass on a string.  She quickly put it around Golduck's neck.  

            " Hey, remember this, Golduck?" Golduck nodded; Brooke remembered it as well as he did.  It was a Mystic Water pendant from when they had won the Whirl Cup a couple of years ago.  She had wanted to save it until she had needed it, fearing a Thief attack from a wild Pokémon would take it away from her, or that it would break.

            Golduck looked down at the pendant, tears forming in his eyes.  With one motion, he stepped up to her and hugged her waist.

            " Golduck duck, gol!" he said, in a tone of love.

            " Oof! Yeah, I love you too, so try not to squeeze me like a tube of toothpaste, okay?" Golduck backed off and nodded, then hopped onto Brooke's bed.  " Golduck!" 

            " Of course I'm sure about this. It's a career-stepping stone, isn't it?" she mused. " Of course this is a good idea…."

AN: Well, I decided to end it there. Sorry if the first chapter's kind of bad, I had to introduce everything.  And the Whirl Cup that Brooke won is not the same year that Ash and Friends went to.  The next will be better, I can practically guarantee it.

Disclaimer:  I do not own Pokémon, have not owned Pokémon, and will never own Pokémon.  I am not making money off of this, have not made money off of this, and will never make money off of this.  I do not have Nintendo's permission, did not have Nintendo's permission, and will never have Nintendo's permission to write this.  But since there haven't been any lawsuits against Pokémon fanfiction before (that I know of) I'm not too worried.  That said, let's move on.

 ^_^  Remember, this story was brought to you by reviewers like you.  Thank you.  ^_^


	2. Chapter 2

Jerito League: Gym Leader Challenge

By Arizima

            AN: Heh, well, onward and outward… Yup, I have nothing to say, how'd you guess? ^_^;;;

            In the streets of Viridian City, a lone girl with a heavily laden backpack raced down the streets.  Brooke panted heavily, trying to keep up with her father; her mother had already said goodbye.  

            " Daaad!  Are we there yet?"  The white-blonde man who was just barely in sight called back,

            " I am, you aren't! Come on, hurry, they're already boarding!"  With a new burst of speed, Brooke ran forward to the pier.  Unfortunately, she was going so fast that she couldn't stop, and almost went over the edge when her father caught the leg of her shorts.

            " I guess I'm lucky these are baggy!" She weakly laughed as she pulled herself over the railing.

            " Lucky? You nearly died! I hope you're not like this in Jerito!" Mr. Cascade said hotly.

            " Don't worry, I won't be," Brooke promised, though she was sure it was a promise that she might not be able to keep.  

" You'd better get on the boat, I don't know how long it's going to stay." He pointed at the large ship that they were fairly close to.

            " Okay, Dad. I'll miss you, y'know," Brooke said, briefly giving her father a hug.

            " I know, I'll miss you too. Call me as soon as you can, alright?"  Brooke nodded, stepping back, and jogged for the boat.  As soon as she reached it, a young man stepped out in the doorway next to a rotating stile.

            " Please present your ticket," he said in a nasal voice.  Brooke dug into her pocket and brought out a pale green ticket.  The man punched a hole into it and gave it back.  " Please enter the ship."

            " Hang on a second," Brooke said, annoyed.  She turned back to see her father a few meters off.

            " Bye, Dad!  Miss you already!" she called, then forced her way through the stile.  She could have sworn that she heard him call back, but the words were lost in the garble of the crowd around the pier.  Brooke sighed, and went below deck.

*  *  *  *  *

            " Nice place," Brooke commented to no-one as she looked around the large room.  There were a lot of tables and chairs were serving platters laden with food in the middle, and a large clear space in the middle of the room.  She sat herself down and helped herself to a small bunch of grapes.

About half an hour later, Brooke felt the ship move beneath her, and smiled a very small smile; they were moving now, it was too late to go back.  As she reached for a dinner roll, a gloved hand reached for the same one and closed on top of hers.  It moved away very quickly and a nervous voice said,

            " Sorry! You can have it."  Brooke turned around to see a blonde girl sitting on the chair next to her, in a very strange outfit.  

She had dark red gloves with thick brass rings around her wrists; wires ran from the brass rings, under her pale green shirt, and onto an odd battery-looking device over her backpack.  Her jeans and boots looked somewhat normal, except the buckles on the thick boots were brass as well, with wires leading to the same device.  She didn't show a bit of skin below her neck, and her hair was in a ridiculous spiky 'do that reminded Brooke of Officer Jenny's style, only higher up on her head.  She was very odd- and young-looking.  

Brooke slowly blinked as she stared at the girl.

            " No, it's alright, I had food earlier."  The girl smiled and bit the dinner roll savagely, closing her dark pink eyes in satisfaction.

            " My name's Levina, I'm an Electric specialist." The girl said, the food in her mouth miraculously not impeding her speech.  She swallowed and finished, " Are you going to Jerito too?"  Brooke nodded, slightly disgusted.

            " I'm Brooke, I specialize in Water."  Levina took another bite and had a look of concentration on her face.

            " Brooke?  The same Brooke that won the Whirl Cup on her first try two years ago?"  Brooke nodded again.  " You must be really good. What Pokémon did you use?"

            " Golduck, Marill, and Seel.  Why?"

            " They must be really powerful to win the Whirl Cup on their first try.  I'm betting that you have a good shot of becoming a Gym Leader."  

            " Well, I certainly hope so. Have you won any tournaments?"  Levina nodded.

            " Well, it wasn't really a tournament.  Y'know that test you can pass to be in the Kanto Pokémon League without any badges?  I passed it, but lost in the League itself because I met a Grass-specialist on his home field.  At least the Johto League doesn't have stupid themed fields."  

            " So you're from Johto?" Levina nodded again.

            " Yup, I caught my Ampharos and Magneton there." Brooke was about to ask another question when a boy's voice cut in.

            " Excuse me, but can I interest either of you ladies in a battle?"  Brooke turned around to see an older teenager with mousy brown hair and eyes looking at the two with a hopeful expression.

            " Uh, no thanks.  I'm eating."  Levina said, finishing off her roll.  Brooke shrugged her shoulders and nodded.

            " Sure, I'm game.  Three-on-three?"  The boy smiled.

            " Just what I was thinking.  By the way, the name's Terran.  I'm a Ground specialist."

            " Ooh, good thing I refused.  I'm Electric."  Levina laughed.

            " You're gonna have your booty whipped, then.  I'm a Water specialist."  Terran looked at her.

            " You're a Water specialist?  Say, your face looks familiar…."

            " She's Brooke Cascade,"  Levina offered.  Terran uttered a small gasp.

            " _The_ Brooke Cascade?  The only first-time participant to win the Whirl Cup?  I really am going to have my booty whipped, aren't I?"  Brooke narrowed her eyes.  She knew that she was the only Whirl Cup champion not to have prior experience in the tournament, but still, she didn't know that that record would be as far-reaching as… wherever Terran came from.

            " So are you still game for that battle, or are you scared?" Brooke looked smug.

            " Sure, but we need a referee."  Terran replied.

            " I'll referee for you," Levina offered.

            " Okay, let's go over there," Terran pointed to a clear area far away from the tables. " We're allowed to battle, I asked one of the employees.  Just as long as we don't make a mess."

            " With Water Pokémon, it's hard not to make a mess, because all of their good attacks depend on, well, water." Brooke laughed.

            " Whatever, it doesn't really matter," Terran smiled.  He stood at one end of a very shallow inversed stage on the floor and Brooke stood on the other.  Levina stood over to the side.

            " Are both you guys ready?" Terran and Brooke nodded. A few other teens looked at them and gathered around the shallow pit.

            " Hey, they're having a battle!"

            " That girl looks just like Brooke Cascade!"

            " Hey, bet you five bucks the guy wins!"  

Brooke gulped as more people started to gather.  What with her fame and even a few people betting on the outcome, she knew she was going to be under pressure.  Levina seemed to not like the pressure either, but Terran was smiling.

            " If you've battled in front of a stadium, you can battle with a few specialists watching you, can't you?" He called across the makeshift field.

            " Of course I can!" But the truth was, these people were here just to watch her and Terran battle, not battling in general, and a few of them even recognized her on sight.  This was much, much different than battling in a tournament.

            " The battle will be three on three each, no time limit!" Levina yelled shakily.

AN:  *shrug* I decided to end it there, predictable cliffhanger.  I don't know if Brooke being somewhat famous (even more well-known among fellow Water Specialists, I bet) is a good twist, I didn't expect it either, it just came out. I'll also explain the names here.

Brooke Cascade:  Brooke comes from brook, as you know, which is a stream with a lot of rocks at the bottom.  Cascade refers to the Cascade badge and a word that can be used to describe a waterfall when in the gerund form (cascading).  At least I think it's a gerund…. Anyway, fitting for a Water trainer.

Levina:  It means "lightning bolt" or something like that.

Terra:  To many people, Terra means earth.  Terra sounds feminine, but Terran sounds masculine, so his name is Terran.

Disclaimer:  I do not own Pokémon, have not owned Pokémon, and will never own Pokémon.  I am not making money off of this, have not made money off of this, and will never make money off of this.  I do not have Nintendo's permission, did not have Nintendo's permission, and will never have Nintendo's permission to write this.  But since there haven't been any lawsuits against Pokémon fanfiction before (that I know of) I'm not too worried.  That said, let's move on.

 ^_^  Remember, this story was brought to you by reviewers like you.  Thank you.  ^_^


	3. Chapter 3

Jerito League: Gym Leader Challenge

By Arizima

            AN:  Well, this battle is ridiculously long, but I suppose that's okay, it flows well.

            Brooke was only all too aware of the people waiting for her and Terran to battle.  Terran rolled up the long sleeves of his pale blue shirt and grinned across the field; how could he perform like this under this kind of pressure!?

            " There will be no time limit! You may begin!" Levina nervously finished.  

Terran reached a calloused, rough hand into one of the large pockets of his light brown vest and pulled out a Pokéball.

" Onix, go!" A beam of red energy shot out of the open ball and became a huge rock snake. Brooke reached into one of the tiny six pockets at the bottom of her backpack and pulled out her own ball.

" Azumarill, time to battle!"  The blue-and-white Water rabbit emerged with a happy "Azu-marill!"

" Onix, Rock Throw!" 

" Azumarill, Attract!" Brooke spat out.  Before Onix could move, Azumarill struck flirtatious poses and blew a kiss to Onix.  Onix stopped dead in his tracks and looked down at Azumarill, a blush slowly creeping across his face, hearts for eyes.  Terran groaned.

" It's just an Azumarill! You're different types, she's a whole lot smaller, it'd never work out!" he yelled.  His reasoning fell to deaf ears as Onix swooned over Azumarill.  A few people in the audience laughed at the love-struck Onix.  Brooke grinned as Azumarill motioned for Onix to bend his head down.  As Onix did, Brooke suddenly yelled,

" Now, Azumarill! Water Gun!"  Azumarill was only too happy to send a strong burst of water from her mouth straight into Onix's jaw.  Onix roared with fury as his head was forced upward and knocked into the ceiling, then fell silent as he slumped to the floor.  Miraculously, the ceiling was still perfectly intact.  Terran clicked his fingers in frustration.

" Onix is unable to battle! Azumarill is the winner!" Levina called, holding up a hand in Brooke's direction.

" Darn it!  Onix, return!"  Terran sucked the Onix back into its ball and stowed it safely in his pocket, then called across the field. " You took a chance there!  My Onix could have been female!"

" It's my experience that trained Onix are usually male!" Brooke called back. " Call your next Pokemon!"

" Alright then!  Gligar, go!"  As the purple Flyscorpio Pokémon appeared, people murmured among themselves, forgetting that Gligar was technically a Ground type.  Back when it had been discovered, it would have been declared Poison/Flying, but Pokémon researchers had noticed that Electricity had no effect on it, so it was Ground/Flying.

" Unexpected, but we can still deal with it! Azumarill, use your Attract again!"  Azumarill looked at Brooke as though she were crazy and protested.

" Azuma zuma rill!" it called back to her.  Terran laughed and called across the field again.

" Nice try, Brooke, but my Gligar's a girl!  I thought that you might depend on Attract to win against males, so I used her instead of trusty ol' Sandslash!"  Brooke made a mental note of Terran's third Pokémon, smiling inwardly.  He shouldn't have told her that.  " Gligar, Mud Slap!" Brooke was startled out of her thoughts at Azumarill's pained cries.  She looked toward the field and saw Azumarill trying to rub mud out of her eyes.

" Azumarill, Bubblebeam into the air, you should be able to hit it!"  Azumarill nodded, and fired bubbles randomly into the air, which Gligar easily dodged.

" Now, Gligar, swoop in with Wing Attack!"  Gligar swiftly glided down at Azumarill, and Brooke shouted,

" It's behind you, dodge it!"  Azumarill quickly sidestepped, but Terran fired off a new order like lightning.

" Poison Sting instead, Gligar!"  Gligar stopped in mid air and shot white needles from her mouth into the back of Azumarill's head.  Azumarill cried and fell down, trying to pull herself up.  A fact suddenly raced through Brooke's head like lightning; there was no way she could win.

" Azumarill, return!"  She called, holding out her Pokéball.  Azumarill became a beam of red energy and was sucked inside.

" Azumarill has been recalled! Gligar is the winner!" Levina called.  Terran stared at Brooke; why had she recalled Azumarill?

" It was pretty obvious I wasn't going to win, so I showed mercy on Azumarill.  Dewgong, go!" A large white, horned seal appeared, flipping its tail.

" That was a mistake, Brooke!  Gligar's got a major advantage, such as being able to move quickly!" Terran called, grinning.

" Dewgong doesn't need to move at all!  Aurora Beam!" Brooke ordered; a rainbow-colored ray of light shot out of Dewgong's horn and into Gligar.  Gligar yelled, starting to fall toward the floor.

" Gligar, get out of it! Mud Slap Dewgong!" Gligar suddenly flapped her wings and raced toward Dewgong, tossing hidden stores of mud at Dewgong's eyes.

" Dewgong, put your head down and use Headbutt if it gets too close!"  Dewgong lowered his head, the lights reflecting off his horn.  

" Pull out, Gligar! Try and use Poison Sting from far away!"  Gligar quickly soared to the ceiling, letting loose more needles.  A few hit Dewgong, and an odd, purple blush suddenly appeared across his face.

" Dewgong's been poisoned, I gotta finish this quick!"  Brooke thought out loud. " Ice Beam, Dewgong!  Put your heart into it!" 

Dewgong weakly nodded and let out a blue beam of light from his mouth.  The beam hit Gligar, and she was suddenly incased in an ice cube, and plummeted to the floor.  Dewgong lowered his head, eyes closed.  Levina looked at the two Pokémon.

" Gligar!  Dewgong!  Both are unable to battle!"  She said, raising both arms and crossing her hands.  As the two Pokémon were returned, Brooke called across the shallow pit to Terran.

" I've got to hand it to you, I didn't expect you to last this long!  But let's see how you fare against Golduck!"  With a flash of red light, Golduck appeared, the Mystic Water still around his neck.

" That's fine, Sandslash is my strongest Pokémon too!  Let's go, buddy!"  A large yellow rodent with a heavily armored back and long claws appeared.

" The final match! Golduck, equipped with Mystic Water, against Sandslash!  You may begin!" Levina yelled.

" Now that we've got the referee's permission," Brooke grinned, "let's go!  Golduck, use a Water Gun!"

" Sandslash, Fury Swipes!"  Sandslash fought his way forward as he was pelted by a strong stream of water.  When he got close, Brooke called another order to Golduck.

" Now that he's close, Fury Swipes!"  Golduck abruptly nodded, cutting off the Water Gun.  Sandslash fell forward as he was still fighting against it, and Golduck's claws scratched into his back.

" Sandslash, use your own Fury Swipes!" Sandslash lifted itself off its feet, knocking Golduck over, and slashed at his belly.  

" Let's finish this!  Confusion!"  Brooke called.  Golduck shoved Sandslash's claws back and jumped back to a safe distance as his eyes began to glow a pale blue.  Sandslash began to glow the same shade of blue, then was whisked off his feet and slammed into the ceiling.  A few members of the audience and Levina winced.  Then, the glow stopped and Sandslash hurtled toward the ground like a stone.

A bruised, scuffed Sandslash fought his way back into his feet, but fell again, eyes closed.  Levina stared at him for a moment, then raced to Brooke and raised her arm was well as her own.

" Sandslash is unable to battle!  Brooke is the winner of the round and the match!"  Terran stared at Brooke and Levina for a moment, then smiled and petted Sandslash on the head as he recalled him.

" I see that you didn't win the Whirl Cup on your first try for nothing," he said as Brooke took his rough hand into her softer one.

" You put up a great battle, though.  I honestly didn't expect you to last as long as you did."  Brooke said, releasing his hand and patting Golduck on the head.  " You did great, buddy.  Are you tired?"  Golduck nodded and put his fins to his head.  Brooke laughed, " Confusion gave you a headache?"

" Golduuuuuck…." He winced in pain.

" That's alright, buddy.  I'll give you some aspirin later, okay?"  Golduck nodded, and Brooke recalled him.

Suddenly, a man in an official-looking uniform forced his way through the small crowd and stared at the water, mud, and leftover Poison Sting needles on the floor.

" Look at the mess you made!  I said you could battle as long you didn't make a mess!" Terran winced.

" Sorry, sir." Terran hung his head.  "I'll clean it up."

" You'd better!  Now, who were you battling and who was the referee?  They can help you." Levina and Brooke weakly smiled at Terran.

AN:  And so the first battle is over.  As you can probably tell, Levina and Terran are going to be the other main characters. *grins*

Disclaimer:  I do not own Pokémon, have not owned Pokémon, and will never own Pokémon.  I am not making money off of this, have not made money off of this, and will never make money off of this.  I do not have Nintendo's permission, did not have Nintendo's permission, and will never have Nintendo's permission to write this.  But since there haven't been any lawsuits against Pokémon fanfiction before (that I know of) I'm not too worried.  That said, let's move on.

 ^_^  Remember, this story was brought to you by reviewers like you.  Thank you.  ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

Jerito League: Gym Leader Challenge

By Arizima

            AN:  Character development time, yay! ^_^;;;  There are also a lot of scene changes in this chapter, but that's just how it works.

            Brooke couldn't truthfully say that she enjoyed mopping up the mud from Gligar's Mud Slap, but the battle had been worth it.  It had been a long time since she was in a Pokémon battle, and even though she had been nervous at first, it had all come rushing back.

            Brooke suddenly put her mop down as she spotted a Poison Sting needle that Levina had missed.  Rather than calling her over, Brooke carefully picked it up and made for the pile of Poison Sting needles a few feet away.  Unfortunately, she slipped on the mop and lost her grip on the needle, which then scratched the back of her hand.  Brooke stared at the long cut as a white-hot pain patiently made its way down her fingers and hand.  A burst of fear suddenly gripped her heart as she realized that she was poisoned, and she could feel her pulse quickening.

            ' Don't panic, you idiot, it'll only get to your heart quicker!' screamed a voice in her head, but Brooke paid it no heed as she fearfully got up, staring at the purplish stain around the cut, and wincing at the pain that had made its way to her elbow.  Now in a state of panic, she stepped backward and tripped over the pile of Poison Sting needles.  An sudden stinging pain in her right buttock confirmed that she had sat on them, and quickly spread to her waist and leg.  She continued to stare at her hand, eyes wide, when she began to feel light-headed.

            " Guys…. Help!" she managed to croak out before she passed out.

*  *  *  *  *

Brooke came to with a horrible medicine-like taste in her mouth and fluttered her eyes open.  Seeing Terran's face inches from hers to her right, she shouted the first thing that came to her mind as she shoved him away.

" Don't get so close, I don't need to see your pores!"  A male voice above Brooke laughed.

" She's alive and kicking.  You'd better get her to the infirmary anyway, Max Revives are meant for Pokémon.  She might have side effects."  Brooke looked up to see a boy – no, young man, with very dark blue hair smiling down at her.

" Uh, hi."

" Hello." He smiled. " Can you get up?"  Brooke nodded, and the man released her arms from his gloves that were the same color of his hair.  " You'd better get to the infirmary or medical office or whatever it's called, Poison Sting attacks aren't meant for humans, and neither is Pokémon medicine."  Brooke nodded weakly again and stood up woozily.  Her vision suddenly exploded with black-and-purple checkerboards that slowly faded away as she became more sure of her feet.  She looked behind her and saw Terran hand an empty bottle to the dark-haired man, then rush over to her.

" What are you doing?" she asked.

" Taking you to the infirmary.  This is all my fault, I'm the one who had Gligar use Poison Sting from far away."  There was a tone of regret in his face, and he was hanging his head.

" No it isn't, we all knew the dangers."

" Well, Terran's the one who challenged us," Levina said, popping up on her other side.

" Levina," Brooke said warningly. " Go finish cleaning up or something, I don't need you blaming Terran.  It's everybody's fault, I'm the one who accepted and you're the one who volunteered to referee."

" Okay then," Levina said brightly, suddenly fingering two Pokéballs.  " Raichu, Magneton, go!"  Brooke paused and watched, interested, as the large orange hamster walked through the water, dragging its tail through it.  Terran laughed.

" Levina's a genius!  Once the water is charged, Magneton will be able to pick it up magnetically!  Come on, let's go."  Brooke nodded as the two made their way into a small office not far away from the large room.

            *  *  *  *  *

            " Well?" Brooke asked nervously as the ship's doctor put away his penlight.

            " You seem to be fine, but I think I'll give you a few Poison Cure Berries just in case.  And the poison may have weakened your immune system, so be very careful about handling things, at least until we get to Jerito.  And in about an hour, you may have to urinate very badly, so I suggest you not get in too deep a sleep lest you have an accident."  The doctor handed Brooke a few tiny purple berries and she ingested them, standing up.

            " And now, I think you should get some rest.  Your cabin number is on your ticket, and is also the telephone extension."  Brooke pulled out her ticket again and saw the characters '4-B.'

            " It says 4-B," Brooke said.

            " Hey, that's right by my cabin!  I'll take you there." Terran volunteered.  

            " Wait a second," said the doctor.  He rummaged through a refrigerator and pulled out an egg in a baggie.

            " If you're still feeling sick after you urinate in an hour or so, then you should open the baggie and fill it with boiling water, then close it almost all the way and let it sit for a few minutes, then eat the egg, understand?  And if you don't urinate, come see me, because the poison would have done something to your bladder."  Brooke blinked, but nodded.

            " Isn't that a Chansey egg?"  The doctor nodded and sent them on their way.

            " Listen, I'm really, really sorry about this."  Terran apologized again as the two walked down a corridor.

            " Don't be, I'm fine." Terran stared at her.

            " You know what would happened if you were allergic to Gligar or Poison Stings?  You could have died!"  Brooke shrugged.

            " I guess I'm lucky, then.  I've been having a lot of luck today, I nearly ran into the ocean earlier when my dad caught me."  Terran raised an eyebrow.

            " I'm not going to ask…. This is your cabin." He pointed at a door with a gold-colored plate labeled '4-B'.  " I'll call you in a while to see how you're doing, alright?"  Brooke nodded and opened the door.

            " Bye."

            " Bye."  Brooke went in and took almost nothing in as she made her way to a bed and flopped down on it, not even stopping to take off her shoes before she fell asleep.  

            *  *  *  *  *

            Brooke was awakened to a feeling of incredible pressure in her lower gut.  She realized that this was what the doctor was talking about, and rushed for the bathroom.  As soon as the poison was flushed out, she heard a mechanical, cheery voice call out,

            " Ring ring ring!  Ring ring ring!  Phone call!  Phone call!  Ring ring ring!  Ring ring ring!  Phone call!  Phone—"

            " Hello, Brooke Cascade speaking." Brooke said once she had picked up the receiver.  Terran's relieved face appeared on the monitor.

            " Hi, Brooke!  Are you alright?"  Brooke nodded.

            " All that poison was just flushed down the commode, I should be fine now."  A brief look of confusion appeared on Terran's face, but then he understood.

            " That's good, listen, I—"

            " Don't even _think_ about apologizing again,"  Brooke interrupted in a dangerous voice.  She heard Levina's voice laughing in the background.  " Is Levina there with you?"  Terran nodded.

            " Hey, would you like to come over?  We could play cards or something, I dunno."

            " Yeah, sure.  Where are you?"  Terran grinned.

            " Hang up and go to the door."  Brooke raised a skeptical eyebrow.  " Just do it, okay?"  Brooke nodded and waved goodbye, then hung up.  Once she had opened the cabin door, she saw Terran waving from the door next to the one across the hall.

            " Told ya you were right by me," he grinned as she went inside.  Brooke shook her head, laughing.

AN:  Aw, Terran's a gentleman.  Next chapter:  They finally arrive in Jerito! *swirly eyes* Yay!

Disclaimer:  I do not own Pokémon, have not owned Pokémon, and will never own Pokémon.  I am not making money off of this, have not made money off of this, and will never make money off of this.  I do not have Nintendo's permission, did not have Nintendo's permission, and will never have Nintendo's permission to write this.  But since there haven't been any lawsuits against Pokémon fanfiction before (that I know of) I'm not too worried.  That said, let's move on.

 ^_^  Remember, this story was brought to you by reviewers like you.  Thank you.  ^_^


	5. Chapter 5

Jerito League: Gym Leader Challenge

By Arizima

            AN:  Right, well.  This time I have nothing to say.

            By the end of the week, Brooke was quite frankly tired of the S. S. Mariner, so she was quite glad to feel land beneath her feet again.  There was a good thing about the long term of confined space, though; she, Levina, and Terran had become as thick as thieves.  They had landed in Newstone Town, a tiny town with an equally tiny pier, and were currently heading for the Pokémon Center.

            " So what do you think we have to do to get the spot?  Have a battle?"  Levina asked, arms crossed behind her head.  Brooke shrugged.

            " I just hope we can get a map of Jerito."  Terran nodded as they stepped through the sliding glass doors.  Inside were a few specialists who had been on the boat, a Nurse Joy, and a guy hardly older than them in an official-looking uniform.

            " Hey, you three!" he called.  " You're invited specialists, right?"  Brooke looked over to the boy and nodded as they walked over.

            " You want to know what you have to do be further considered, of course."

            " Duh," Levina said.

            " Well, it's quite simple.  The Gym Leaders have to prove themselves just as capable of the Trainers who will be challenging them, so there will be a lot of travel involved, alright?  You're to travel to each of the eight cities which will house Gyms, where there will be a League Official waiting at the Pokémon Center to give you a receipt showing that you've been there.  Once you get the receipt from the Deepshadow City Pokémon Center—"

            " Deepshadow City?" Terran asked.  The boy nodded.

            " It's the city that will house the Level 8 Gym.  Once you get your receipt from there, you'll receive further instructions.  Right now, you will be given a map of Jerito and a book that will tell you everything you need to know about the different cities and regions."  He handed each of them a folded-up map that had two sides, and a small red and gold book.  " That's basically all there is to it.  Simple, huh?"

            " Exceedingly simple.  Thank you, we need to talk to Nurse Joy now."  Brooke lead the way to the front desk, where Nurse Joy was doing something on the computer.

            " Hi, can you heal our Pokémon?  They've had plenty of rest since their last battle but we want to play it safe,"  Nurse Joy looked up from the computer.

            " Of course!  Just put them on this tray," Nurse Joy pulled up a couple of trays with six indentions on them, " and leave the rest to me, okay?" Brooke, Terran, and Levina each dumped three Pokéballs each into the trays, and Nurse Joy took them into the back room.  A few minutes passed, and she walked out again, smiling.

            " Your Pokémon are now fully healed, we hope to see you again!" she said cheerfully as she put the trays down.  Brooke nodded and picked up her Pokéballs, which she had marked with blue teardrop stickers.  For stickers, they were actually very hardy.  Levina had had her initials carved into the top of hers, while Terran hadn't done anything to his Pokéballs.  

            " Hey guys, I promised to call my parents as soon as I could, so I'm gonna go do it, okay?" Brooke said, stashing her Pokéballs away.  Terran nodded as Brooke headed over to the dark blue videophones.  She dialed her number and waited as the words ' Please wait, the phone is ringing' rolled across the screen.  Suddenly, her mother's face appeared on the screen.

            " Hello, Cascade residence.  Oh!  Brooke!  Hi, how are you?"  Brooke smiled.

            " I'm fine, mom.  How're you and Dad?"

            " We're just peachy, but we were worried sick about you.  Are you doing okay, are you eating well?"  Brooke nodded.

            " Yeah, I even made a couple of friends here."

            " Oh?"

            " Yeah, they're Terran and Levina.  They're specialists too.  Terran's a Ground-type Specialist, and Levina specializes in Electric."

            " Oh, that's good!  Together, you three should be able to handle any wild Pokémon or trainer that comes your way, except…."

            " Except what, Mom?"

            " You're all very weak against Grass types.  What will you do if you encounter one?"

            " That's easy.  My Dewgong, Terran's Gligar, or Levina's Magneton should be able to handle them, see?"  Mrs. Cascade nodded.

            " Yes, I see.  Well, I'm glad to see you're doing well."

            " Yeah, so'm I.  Listen, I gotta go, okay?  Tell Dad I said hi."

            " I'll do that.  Call again soon!"

            " Don't worry, I will. Bye!"

            " Bye."  With that, Brooke hung up and turned around to see Terran and Levina waiting.

            " You done?"  Levina asked.  Brooke nodded, and the three left the Pokémon Center.  

            " So it's off to… Plainview, is it?" Levina shook her head.

            " No way, I've got to stop at the Mart first.  These maps are fine, but I want to get one for my Pokégear.  Y'know, the kind that lets you know where you are on the map."

            " I didn't know you had a Pokégear, where is it?"  Brooke asked.  Levina grinned and brought a golden yellow Pokégear with a pale yellow screen out from under her shirt.  

            " That could come in handy,"  Terran laughed.  Levina grinned and set out for the Pokémart.

*  *  *  *  *

Brooke waited patiently in line, her arms laden with Pokémon food, as the boy in front of Levina counted out change to give to the cashier.  Finally, he left and Levina slapped down a small cartridge onto the counter and presented her debit card.  Soon she was done and Brooke pushed her purchase onto the counter and passed her debit card over the bags.  As soon as she was done, Terran did the same and they left the Pokémart as Levina ripped the packaging off the Jerito Map card and slid it into her Pokégear.  Suddenly, a 3-d hologram of Jerito popped up, with a tiny golden dot blinking near the coast line of the Pac-man mouth.

" Oh, man, check out the mountains near Snowpass City." Levina shuddered as Brooke and Terran looked at the insubstantial tall peaks on the thinnest part of the island.  Those were obviously the island's highest point, and it steadily got closer to sea level the further away from the mountains on either side you got.  On the other side of the triangular bay, there was a hologram of many tall trees stretching almost to the other shore, with a small clearing.  If you looked closely you could see the tallest skyscrapers.

" And that's Deepshadow City."  Levina said, pointing.  " Now then, Plainview, we should start heading southwest for that.  Everybody got sleeping bags?  It's gonna be a looong walk."

" I have a sleeping bag, don't worry,"  Brooke said as Terran nodded.

" Let's go then," Terran said as they began to exit Newstone Town on a beaten path to the southwest.

AN:  The gym levels were borrowed from Mr. Ono's manga.  The phrase "as thick as thieves" means as "close-knit as thieves", so the phrase it basically means "close friends".  Sorry if this chapter was kind of sucky, it's a transitional chapter, and actually shorter than half of the others.  Next chapter will be up soon.

Disclaimer:  I do not own Pokémon, have not owned Pokémon, and will never own Pokémon.  I am not making money off of this, have not made money off of this, and will never make money off of this.  I do not have Nintendo's permission, did not have Nintendo's permission, and will never have Nintendo's permission to write this.  But since there haven't been any lawsuits against Pokémon fanfiction before (that I know of) I'm not too worried.  That said, let's move on.

^_^  This story was brought you by reviewers like you.  ^_^

^_^  Thank you.  ^_^

 ^_^  Remember, this story was brought to you by reviewers like you.  Thank you.  ^_^


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